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I recently got married on August 24th, 2008.  It was a very busy ordeal.  There were over 200 people at my wedding.  Preparation for the wedding was tough, but overall, I think that everything went well.  I like being married.  Marriage is good, but like any other relationship there are always hardships to overcome.  Getting married will not solve any previous problems that were in your relationship.  There is no magic formula that allows life to be easier for married folk.  Being married is a job, you have to work at it if you want it to work.

Marriage began in the bible with Adam and Eve.  Eve was created to be Adam’s companion and wife.  God  said, “It is not good that the man should be alone;  I will make him an help meet for him” (Genesis 2:18).  When Eve was created, she and Adam were to be one.  ”This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh:  she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.  Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2:23-24).  This is what marriage is about.  You and the person you marry should become one.  There should be no room for selfishness.  

When you and your mate become one, there should be a sense of sacredness because marriage is a gift from God.  ”Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh.  What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matthew 19:6).  Marriage should be taken more serious.  Too many people get married for the wrong reasons.  This is evident because of the high divorce rates (America has a 50% divorce rate.  Check out http://www.divorcerate.org/).  People marry for wealth, status, and convenience.  People should get married for love.

Take a look at the helpful marriage tips below.  These are tips that I will start to use more.

• Prayer - This is the most important key to a successful marriage.  You and your mate should pray together everyday.  The devil likes to keep confusion going.  Pray that God rids you of that serpent.  Pray for understanding, good health, patience, and anything else that you think will help your marriage.
• Communication - I think this is the second most important key to a successful marriage.  Don’t just listen, try to understand your mate.  Try to understand their point of view and why they have that point of view.  On the other side, be willing to express your views.  Don’t keep things to yourself and don’t let things build up inside of you.  This will just cause more problems.
• Do things together - It is very important that you and your mate spend time together.  Exercise together, go for walks, go to plays.  Try to be as active as possible.
• Be Supportive - Always be supportive of your mate.  Support their endeavors, be honest but don’t tear them down.  Give suggestions if necessary.
• Keep your business private - Do not go and broadcast any of your marital problems to your friends or family.  Your marriage is between you and your mate.  If you need help, see a pastor or a marriage counselor.  IF YOU ARE IN AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP, GET OUT AND PLEASE CONTACT THE POLICE.  Introducing friends or family to your personal business is one of the worst things that you can do for your marriage.

Getting married is a promise between you and your partner.  Marriage is a sacred bond.  Follow God’s word in everything that you do and pray daily.  Here are my wedding vows:

As we stand before both God and man making public our commitment to one another, I wish to make it known that I recognize God’s authority over my life, which is exercised from His loving heart.  He has chosen me to be one of His own.  I recognize also that He has blessed me, and entrusted to me your life.  In recognition of these things, I, Richard Harris affirm my love to you Alisha McCamy as I invite you to share my life as my wife, my partner, and my one true love.  You are beautiful, smart, and generous and I promise to always respect you with kindness, unselfishness and trust, I will work by your side to create a wonderful life together.  I purpose to love you with God’s love, to provide for your needs through His enablement, and to lead you as He leads me, as long as He gives me life, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health for as long as we both shall live.  Alisha, I look forward to establishing a home where Christ is glorified.  Toward that end I promise to allow God to use you in my life as He sees fit.  I thank Him for you and your love.  Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth.  Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail.  Love is eternal.  I love you.

God Bless!

Marriage Get married, Love, Marriage, Relationships, The married life

God has done great things for me and my family.  I am sure that He has done great things for you as well.  God blesses us daily and He consistently displays His power to all.  He wakes us up in the morning, He gives us air to breath, He gives us food to eat, and He clothes us.  God also exhibits the many marvels that He created.  We have Mount Everest, Victoria Falls, The Grand Canyon, and the Northern Lights to name a few.  God loves us, but He doesn’t give us blessings just to be nice.  God gives us blessings so that we may tell others of his greatness.  God wants us to witness to all.  God wants us to tell our story.  God wants us to draw others to Him. “The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe” (John 1:7).

Dictionary.com has many definitions for the word “witness”, but one stands out to me.  Dictionary.com defines a witness as one who sees, hears, or knows by personal presence and perception.  Therefore, if you see, hear, or know anything good that God has done for yourself or others; then you should tell someone about it. 

I have a little story about myself that I tell people about.  This is me witnessing.  This is my testimony.  I went to school for Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering.  That is a blessing in itself, because I often argued with myself about changing majors.  College was tough, but thats not the story I will talk about right now.  My story is about employment.  During most of my college years I worked for a law firm.  Working for a law firm had nothing to do with me wanting to become an engineer.  I needed money, so that was the job I had.  There was period where the law firm started to loose clients.  The reason for this is sketchy but I believe it had something to do with our firm over charging clients.  Nonetheless, clients were terminating our services.  The firm wasn’t raking in the dough like it was accustomed to, so the layoffs began.  Almost everyone I came in with were let go.  I was a good worker, but it was by God’s grace that I was not let go.  There were other good workers that were let go but God kept me safe and secure.

As I was working for the law firm, I was looking for an engineering co-op job.  I needed some engineering experience, companies don’t like hiring people with no experience.  I went to job fairs, I posted my resume on various websites, and I searched the newspaper.  I couldn’t find anything.  One day I got a call from a company, they wanted me to come in for an interview.  I was ecstatic.  I went in for the interview.  I sat down and had a long conversation with the interviewer.  Everything was going great, until he said that they were not hiring anymore co-op students.  I was confused.  Why interview people if you are not hiring?  I asked him that vary question.  He said that although they were not hiring now, they may hire again in the future.  I left the interview and I was very disgusted.  

Now, it is senior year in college and I still do not have engineering experience.  There was a job fair at my university and I decided to give it another shot.  A lady was speaking, and she said that the company that she worked for would be hiring for the summer.  I grabbed an application and filled it out.  When I turned in the application, the lady said to expect a call within two weeks.  Two weeks came and went.  I did not receive a call.

I was discouraged but I was still faithful.  I wanted job experience in the engineering field.  I knew that it would be tough for me to get a job straight out of college with no experience.  About a month passed and I received a phone call.  A lady was on the phone.  She said that she had some job openings for the summer.  I asked her which opening I was considered for.  She replied, “We have three openings, you choose the one that you would like”.  Then she went into detail describing each position.  I choose a position that I was interested in.  I asked for the date and time of the interview.  She told that there was no interview and that I already had the job.  I was amazed.  I knew that this opportunity was not a reflection of my grades.  My grades were Ok, but not that Ok.  This was the work of God.  He opened the door.

My co-op experience with the company was great.  I was able to learn new things and meet new people.  Best of all, I think that the company was happy to have me.  Graduation was coming fast and I really wanted to stay with the company.  I didn’t hide it either, I told them I was interested in working for them full time after graduation.  They told that they didn’t think there would be any money in the budget to hire me.  My supervisor said that he would speak to the director.  Weeks passed and I heard nothing.  I started applying to other jobs.

I received a call for an interview.  It was for another company.  The interview went great and I received an offer the following week.  Compared to my expectations, the offer was very low.  They also wanted me to work fifty hour work weeks including weekends if necessary.  I received an offer but it wasn’t the one that I wanted.  I had a week to accept or decline the offer.  The week was almost over when I received an offer from the company that I had the co-op experience with.  The director was able to get money in the budget just for me.  The offer that they gave me was much more.  I accepted it and declined the other offer.  The best part about it is similar to how I got the co-op; I did not have to go on an interview.  God opened the door.  Throughout this ordeal I remained faithful and God blessed me.  I have been with the company since May 2008.

“Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:)  for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.  But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:31-33).  God Bless!

Christian Principles Be a witness for Christ, Witness, Witness to others, Witnesses